Original vintage 1966 Firestone "Firestone Wins!" advert celebrating the rally race wins of Bruce McLaren (Player's 200, Canada), Joe Bonnier (Nurburgring Race, Germany) and Graham Hill (Indianapolis 500, United States)
Dimensions: 10 inches wide by 13.5 inches high.
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500 – commonly shortened to Indy 500 – is an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis.
The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, which is the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy Car Racing." The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard," as the racing surface was first paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line of the track. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it has frequently shared a date.
The inaugural race was held in 1911 and it was won by Ray Harroun – it celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running was held in 2016. The event was put on hiatus twice, from 1917 to 1918 due to World War I and from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II. In two different periods, the race was part of FIA World Championships; between 1925 and 1928, the World Manufacturers' Championship and between 1950 and 1960, the World Drivers' Championship.
Álex Palou, the winner in 2025, is the reigning champion. The most successful drivers all-time are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves, each of whom has won the race four times.
The event is steeped in tradition, in pre-race ceremonies, race procedure, and post-race celebrations. Among them are the 33-car starting grid lined up in rows of three, the annual singing of the chorus of "Back Home Again in Indiana," and the victory-lane bottle of milk. Qualifying requires the driver to complete four, rather than one, timed laps, and the time trials are conducted on a separate weekend. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is roughly 235,000, and infield patrons raise typical race-day attendance to between 350,000 and 400,000.[6]
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire manufacturer based in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1900 by Harvey S. Firestone in Akron, Ohio, originally producing solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus. The company later expanded to manufacture pneumatic tires for wagons, carriages, and other wheeled vehicles of the time.
Recognizing the emerging market for automobile tires, Firestone was a pioneer in the mass production of tires. Harvey Firestone's close relationship with Henry Ford helped establish Firestone as the original equipment supplier for Ford Motor Company vehicles, while also maintaining a strong presence in the replacement tire market. In 1988, Firestone was acquired by the Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone, and the brand now operates as part of Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
